News
27 June 2005
Inspiring stamps to recognise Hong Kong's Creative Industries
The Postmaster General, Mr. Allan CHIANG, today announced that a special stamp issue with the theme of "Creative Industries" will be released on 21 July 2005. Designed to highlight the dynamic and progressive nature of creativity and technology, the set comprises four stamps presenting Hong Kong's creative industries in inspiring graphics and bold abstracts.
The $1.40 stamp represents the Advertising, Architecture and Design industries with three basic shapes - circle, square and triangle - creating a definitive image through a clever combination of colours and tones. The $2.40 stamp illustrates the Digital Entertainment, Publishing, Software and Computing industries, which today share the same digital language. Binary notation and the 'www' of the world-wide web are combined with familiar keyboard symbols and ingenious emoticons to create a striking graphic image.
The $3 Film and Video, Music, Television and Radio stamp represents digital technology, which is widely applied in these industries. Radiating and perpendicular lines in an array of colours abstractly present the inexhaustible variety of audio-visual productions. The $5 Art, Antiques and Crafts and Performing Arts stamp is about lifestyle and taste. The free strokes in black, gold and white executed stylishly against a contrasting red backdrop are suggestive of an infinite creativity.
Commenting on this special stamp issue, Mr. CHIANG remarked: "These stamps are representative of the vibrancy of Hong Kong and its ability to reinvent itself in tune with the times. Customarily, the creative industries involve economic activities that make use of creativity, skill and intellectual property to produce and distribute products and services of social and cultural meaning, thus helping to realise the potential for wealth generation and job creation. Today, as we advance into the 21st century, Hong Kong has moved to embrace and nurture creative industries as the new millennium's dynamic growth sector."
The stamps are designed by Mr. Arde LAM and printed in lithography by Cartor Security Printing, France.
The stamps will be displayed at the General Post Office, Tsim Sha Tsui, Tsuen Wan and Shatin Central post offices from 30 June 2005. Official First Day Covers at $1 each will be put on sale at all post offices on the same day. Advance orders for servicing self-provided souvenir covers will be accepted at 39 philatelic offices from 30 June to 6 July 2005.
A hand-back datestamping service will be provided at all post offices on 21 July 2005 for official and privately-made covers, bearing the first day of issue indication and a local address. A special postmark will also be introduced. The GPO-1 postmark, the "Philatelic Bureau" pictorial postmark and the philatelic office pictorial postmark will also be available for hand-back datestamping service at all philatelic offices on that day.
Also on 21 July 2005, the public hall of the Hongkong Post Philatelic Bureau will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for datestamping covers with the "Philatelic Bureau" pictorial postmark, the GPO-1 postmark and the special postmark.
Further information about this issue and the sale of associated philatelic products can be obtained from Hongkong Post's website at www.hongkongpost.com, at any post office, or by calling the Hongkong Post Philatelic Bureau hotline 2785 5711.
First Day Cover text
Fact Sheet
The enclosed photograph shows "Creative Industries" Special Stamp to be issued on 21 July 2005.
The enclosed photograph shows "Creative Industries" Special Postmark to be issued on 21 July 2005.